As many of you already know: 8hoof is a queer-owned and -operated business that supports diversity, equity and inclusivity. In honor of Pride Month, this newsletter will highlight the queerest card in the Odin Oracle:

Jálkr: The Gelded One

This newsletter has three sections:

1. Research. An overview of Jálkr’s historic uses and implications, and how how 8hoof is using the name today.

2. Meanings. The upright and reversed meanings for the card, informed by the research and community feedback.

3. Art. Finally we unveil both the black and white and the color versions of the card art!

Research

This is a well attested name, found in Grimnismal (49, 54) when Odin lists off his names to King Geirröth, Gylfaginning (20), and in Óðins Nofn. According to Neil Price’s The Viking Way, this name can also be found in Einarr Helgason skálaglamm (c. 986) and Vellekla 24.

Jalkr is Old Norse for gelding: a castrated male horse. This can be highlighting a connection to Hengist and Horsa (which translate to “Stallion” and “Horse” respectively), who are the mythical Germanic leaders of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, and supposedly descended from Odin (Bede p56). However, while this name connects to them, it clearly cannot be a reference to Odin’s progeny given the castrational element, so one must look deeper.

Now castration can be an insult, implying a lack of virility or masculinity. When gelded, the male horse becomes less aggressive, more easily tamed. Odin, as a gelded one, is no longer “masculine.” This idea is connected to Loki’s verse in Lokasenna (24):

But you, they said, sank down in [the Isle of] Sámey,

And struck a drum as seeresses do,

In wizard’s shape you went among mankind,

And I considered that the essence of a pervert

(Pettit translation)

But the insult angle doesn’t fit well either, as Odin proudly lists Jalkr as one of his names in King Geirröth’s court. There is no shame.This lack of shame is further underscored in verse 91 of the Havamal: “I shall now speak plainly, for I know both - Men’s feelings for women are fickle;...” (Pettit again). Odin knows both the feelings of men AND women.

One must look to the gender queerness that this name implies, and look deeper into Loki’s attempted insult in Lokasenna. In many cultures, such as the Sami or Siberian shamans, gender queerness is tied to a sense of heightened spiritual or magical abilities (discussed extensively The Viking Way). The Lokasenna confirms this connection: Odin is on Sámey Isle studying as a seeress. He is also striking a drum, another clue connecting to trancework and mystical experiences, and the gender queer implications therein.

Havamal 91 really sums it best though: Odin seeks wisdom by experiencing a fluidity of gender expression. There is a power to rejecting gender norms, and this deck focuses on those aspects of this name. Odin undergoes the gelding process and becomes more powerful for it.

Note: Each card in the Odin deck will have an essay like this one. This research was done to inform the card meanings and placement within the deck.

Meanings

Upright: Fluidity and drag. Receptivity and trance states. Gender euphoria and affirmation. Expression and performance of gender. Rejecting social expectations. Receiving knowledge. Releasing aggression. Seið. Seeking counsel.

Reversed: Strict binaries. Gender dysphoria. Fear of queerness. Not experimenting. Blind to gender. Acting as expected. Rejecting those who act against the norm. Not minding your own business. Being closed off.

And that’s all for this month!

Thank you for reading through this longer newsletter. Please forward to friends freely! And as always, let me know your thoughts on any of the content above.